Caso individual (CAS) - Discusión: 2003, Publicación: 91ª reunión CIT (2003)

Convenio sobre la política del empleo, 1964 (núm. 122) - Portugal (Ratificación : 1981)

A Government representative stated that he would tackle the different issues raised by the Committee of Experts and provide some indications on recent trends in the labour market. In the first quarter of 2002 and the first quarter of 2003, the active population had grown at a rate of 1.2 per cent, while the activity rates had remained practically constant and the unemployment rates had decreased slightly (0.01 per cent). In the first quarter of 2003, the unemployment rate had been 6.4 per cent with an increase in the number of unemployed workers of 45.6 per cent. In his opinion, youth unemployment and unemployment of older workers had increased less than the overall average. This trend resulted from a slowdown in economic activity, with the slowdown itself being related to the international economic policy and the national economic situation of reducing budget deficits and monitoring public expenditure. Moreover, it had to be kept in mind that, because of the country's integration in the European common market, the national employment policy had followed the guidelines established at the level of the Community to formulate national employment plans. It should also be noted that the average unemployment rate (in the first quarter, according to Eurostat), was 8.2 per cent in the EU and 7 per cent in Portugal.

Concerning the rise in the use of temporary contracts, the latter corresponded to 17.1 per cent of the total of contracts. This rate rose to 15.5 per cent for men and to 18.9 per cent for women. In this period of economic slowdown, employment mainly adjusted itself to the use of fixed-term contracts. With regard to the impact of the measures taken within the framework of the national employment plan on the quality of employment, social protection, increased productivity and competitiveness, the fight against illegal employment and the use of fixed-term contracts, the formulation of a programme to combat occupational risks, the speaker wished to mention the adoption of a new basic law on social security and the approval of the first Labour Code of Portugal which revised and systematized the legislation in force. The Code had been approved by Parliament and was to be signed by the President of the Republic who had requested the Constitutional Court to examine the constitutionality of certain sections of the Code. Concerning the fight against illegal unemployment, certain independent workers sometimes found themselves in a situation of dependency or subcontracting. In this regard, the Labour Code presumed, on the basis of certain factual elements, the existence of a labour contract. In addition, the Government supplied information on the fight against illegal immigration in the context of its report this year under article 19 of the Constitution. Regarding the use of fixed-term contracts, the Labour Code contained provisions aimed at restricting the conclusion and renewal of such contracts. In addition, the social security contributions by employers could be increased based on the number of fixed-term contracts concluded in their enterprise. If these contracts were concluded for more than six months, the employer had to provide vocational training for the worker. Finally, enterprises that converted fixed-term contracts into open-ended contracts could be encouraged by means of a reduction in their social expenses.

The Government representative further mentioned that the Committee of Experts had requested information on the manner in which the representatives of all groups concerned, including rural and informal economy workers, had been consulted on the formulation and the implementation of employment policies and programmes - which was mainly the National Employment Plan. He stated that, in particular with respect to rural and informal economy workers, the latter were represented by the trade union confederations cited by the Committee of Experts. Informal economy workers enjoyed the same rights as other workers and could set up trade unions or become members of an existing trade union. Generally, the consultation with the social partners took place within the Permanent Commission on Social Consultation, which is a tripartite body, and in the framework of which quarterly reports on the implementation of the Plan were being presented and discussed. There existed also a tripartite working group that provided technical support to the formulation of the national plan. Furthermore, laws dealing with employment policy were initially submitted for examination by representative workers' and employers' organizations.

The speaker further referred to the comments made by General Workers' Union (UGT) regarding the difficulty for young jobseekers entering the labour market. This difficulty resulted from a mismatch between the offer proposed by the system of higher education as a whole and the needs of the labour market. Information on this point was available to young jobseekers so that they could orient themselves towards higher skills training sought by the labour market. With respect to the problems of regional differences in employment mentioned by the UGT, some public investment existed to stimulate economic activity in those regions where unemployment was highest. In addition, regional plans that were adapting the national strategies to the characteristics of each region complemented the National Employment Plan. With regard to the training of less skilled youth, those of less than 18 years of age must follow a vocational training course during working time. This was the same for less skilled youth of 16 and 17 years of age who had not completed compulsory schooling and who, if necessary, could follow courses equivalent to compulsory schooling. There also existed vocational guidance services to assist youth in choosing vocational training courses. Finally, it was likely that the duration of compulsory schooling would pass from nine to 12 years, which would considerably improve the basic training of youth. A tenth year of schooling was established focussed on professional training, aimed at youth who completed compulsory schooling but did not pursue further studies.

The speaker stated that the UGT had rightly drawn the attention to the situation of older workers who had no access to retraining and who were more exposed to long-term unemployment. Recent figures showed however that older workers had not been affected by the increase in unemployment. The training possibilities of these workers depended in particular on their capacity to learn and many of them had not completed their compulsory schooling. In this context, to respond to the recent rise in unemployment, the Employment and Social Protection Programme envisaged measures aimed at facilitating the transition of these workers into retirement, if they wished to do so. The Programme envisaged a set of supportive measures to provide training accessible to all workers and the unemployed, independent of their age. Some of these measures were particularly interesting for older workers. Finally, with respect to lifelong learning and access to training for all workers, the Government was preparing a law on the basis of vocational training that would regulate the aspects of lifelong learning. The Employment and Social Protection Programme envisaged other training measures to address the current economic situation of increased unemployment, and the new Labour Code embodied the principle that employers have to ensure the vocational training of their workers.

In reference to the observations made by the Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP-IN) regarding the decline in employment in various sectors of the economy and the sex-based discrimination in certain sectors, the speaker confirmed that there had been a reduction in the agricultural and industrial activities to the benefit of the services sector. The exit of economically active older workers could benefit the transformation of rural businesses and raise productivity in this sector. The reduction in the number of industrial workers could be explained by a number of elements such as: the technological transformation of labour-intensive activities; the substitution of less skilled jobs by higher skilled ones; the restructuring of enterprises, especially through outsourcing, which altered the statistical classifications of certain posts that moved from industry to services; and the relocation of industrial enterprises abroad where wages are lower.

The speaker concluded by emphasizing that he had tried to synthesize his comments on all the issues covered by the Committee of Experts. It was therefore perhaps desirable that, when an observation of the Committee of Experts covered numerous points, this Committee would inform governments of the reasons that had motivated the Committee in selecting the case, or at least of the topics on which governments had to provide explanations.

The Employer members thanked the Government representative of Portugal for his statement which provided explanations and some statistics concerning the employment policy situation in the country. The statement gave a good and balanced picture of what the Government was trying to do by way of meeting the objectives of the Convention. They recalled that Article 1 of the Convention set the goal of pursuing an active policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment, ensuring for each worker the fullest possible opportunity to qualify for such employment irrespective of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin with the view to stimulating economic growth and development, raising the standards of living, meeting manpower requirements and overcoming unemployment and underemployment. The Government's statement seemed to cover the efforts under way, based on the national conditions prevailing in the country, and describing the elements of national policy and that of private investment. They recalled that this Convention was a promotional one with flexibility of application but that, in the end, the measure of things was the final result at the workplace. They noted the information provided by the Government, including those regarding the increase of the female workforce which they considered to be substantial in the context of the current worldwide economic situation. They noted the relatively high unemployment figures when compared to the region. They noted the points raised by the Government representative concerning short-term, fixed-term, temporary employment and felt that all this was relative. What might be considered short in one country could be normal in others. They also noted the consultative process concerning the informal sector. They considered the Government should continue its efforts in maximizing skills, pursuing lifelong learning and human resources development in general. They shared the Government's point concerning the Committee's criteria in choosing items for individual cases for discussion. The Committee of Experts' comments in this case were rather short and cryptic. They felt that this was a case where the Government was headed in the right direction.

The Worker members welcomed the efforts made by the Government of Portugal to provide all the information requested by the Committee in 2001. The case of Portugal seemed to be a good example of the problems with which many European countries were being confronted. On the one hand, these related to the increase in unemployment and a growing precariousness of workers and, on the other hand, to the absurd demands of the monetary and budgetary aspects of European economic policy. In this regard, Portugal appeared to be particularly affected by the policy aimed at reducing the budgetary deficit (less than 3 per cent of the BNP). The Worker members further emphasized the particular characteristic of unemployment in Portugal in that it had increased more rapidly than elsewhere in Europe and, paradoxically, had affected skilled young people. This was not only related to the economic situation but also to Portugal's economic structure (low-skilled jobs and relatively low salaries). In these circumstances, Portugal was subjected to a triple effect of a difficult economic situation, restrictive budgetary policies and industrial restructuring. Nevertheless, the Worker members were satisfied with the participation of the social partners in the discussions on employment. In this regard, an agreement had been signed on 1 February 2001 to improve training and to combat precarious employment, in particular, by means of tackling illegal employment and monitoring reliance on temporary contracts. However, the fact still remained that the implementation of these employment agreements was a major problem. The Worker members, therefore, requested that the Government focus its efforts on the problem of increasing unemployment, including that of skilled young people, by ensuring the implementation of these agreements, and that it keep them informed of the measures taken to this end.

The Worker member of Portugal stated that, although there was no problem with the tripartite dialogue in his country, the main difficulty was the concrete implementation in practice of the agreements negotiated through this dialogue. Unemployment in Portugal resulted, on the one side, from the model of development pursued by the authorities, which was based mostly on the labour intensive sectors and, on the other side, from the policy of budget stabilization leading the Government to use such criteria for the reduction of the deficit and of the public debt that have a negative impact on employment. Such unemployment had several characteristics. It had increased at an alarming speed, from 4.5 per cent in June 2002 to 7.3 per cent in May 2003. It is now confronted with the problem of the qualification of the unemployed and had become, under the circumstances, a preoccupying structural question.

The Labour Code adopted by the National Assembly had disrupted the balance of force between employers and workers. Promulgation of this Code could in future lead to new increases in unemployment and make the social dialogue and collective bargaining more difficult, inasmuch as the employers, being in a stronger position, would be less inclined to negotiate with the workers. The adoption of the Code by the National Assembly was an extremely controversial process that led to a general strike in December 2002 and forced the President of the Republic to submit some of its provisions to the Constitutional Tribunal. In conclusion, Portuguese workers were deeply worried by the progression of unemployment and demanded an active employment policy with more vocational training programmes, and the adoption of measures to realize concluded tripartite agreements. Furthermore, the promulgation of the new Code by the President of the Republic might have preoccupying repercussions on the quality of employment, qualification of workers, national productivity and tripartite dialogue.

The Worker member of Senegal considered that the reply provided by the Government representative of Portugal had not addressed all the concerns. He pointed out that the reliance on temporary work had taken disturbing proportions and that the level of employment had indeed decreased in the agricultural and industrial sectors. He stressed the role of the social partners with regard to the development of new legislation in the area of employment promotion, including the workers in the rural sector and the informal economy. The speaker further invoked the persistent structural problems in employment and training, in particular the unemployment of skilled young people and the inadequate training possibilities offered to less skilled youth. He denounced the gap between the regions and persistence of sex discrimination and expected measures to be taken on the part of the Government to ensure compatibility between vocational skills and the number of jobs available so as to achieve real progress and to respond to a social need.

The Worker member of Austria recalled the Preamble and Article 1 of Convention No. 122, as well as the obligation of States that ratify this Convention to design and apply an active employment policy towards the goal of full employment according to national circumstances. This would also include the examination of related economic and financial policies. The deterioration of the employment situation in Portugal reflected a European-wide trend that was not only due to a failed employment policy in Portugal but also due to macroeconomic conditions at the European Union level which hindered economic growth. The European Union pact on growth and stability created neither growth nor stability and had negative effects on the employment objectives outlined in Convention No. 122. He further noted the increasing practice by Portugal and other European governments to exclude workers' organizations from the process of formulation, implementation and analysis of national employment policies as required by Article 3 of Convention No. 122. The social costs of a failed employment policy were being borne by those who were not present in the Governments of these countries. With regard to the conclusions in this case, he requested the Committee to recommend to the Government of Portugal to use all available resources for a proactive employment policy to be designed in consultation with workers' organizations and to use its influence at the European level to fundamentally change the macroeconomic policy of the European Union towards sustainable employment-intensive economic growth.

The Government member of France emphasized that Portugal was a very active partner within the framework of the European employment strategy conducted by the European Union. This strategy gave a very prominent place to questions of employment, education and training, as well as to the relations between competence and competitiveness, and it was Portugal that had pushed and supported this orientation. Without entering into the substance of the questions and discussions to be dealt with by the social partners and the Government, it is worth remembering that Portugal is known as a partner, which is very sensitive to and very engaged in the questions of employment and training and in giving these issues a noticeable place.

The Government representative indicated that, with respect to the concerns expressed by the Worker members regarding his speaking time, he had tried as much as possible synthesize his intervention which covered many different areas. Moreover, the whole of the comments formulated by the Workers raised an objective difficulty to the extent that they required another long and complete intervention on the prevailing economic, social and budgetary policies. Three points merited however to be emphasized. Firstly, while there was agreement on the facts, there were divergences on their evaluation as well as on future perspectives and the determination of objectives resulting from this evaluation. This would not be an easy task. The Portuguese economy relies on activities that are labour intensive and it was necessary to modify this economic model, to focus on young workers and to ensure redeployment of older workers. There were also some divergences as to the impact of the future Labour Code on the economy and social relations. The different aspects of the application of this new Code will be the subject of subsequent comments in the context of future reports that will be submitted by the Government. Finally, the Government accords great importance to the definition and the conclusion of agreements as well as to seek solutions for their practical application - the implementation of these agreements being indeed more difficult than their conclusion. Regarding the employment policy agreements concluded in 2002, there were objective elements that required a new examination of priorities, taking into account the recent elections. If there had been a delay with respect to certain decisions, certain aspects had nevertheless been implemented.

While recognizing the importance of the strategic process by Portugal, the Worker members did specify that this process was developed during a period with a perspective of economic growth. The present situation no longer corresponded to the expectations of the year 2000. They reiterated their conclusions concerning the implementation of the agreements and their request for information on the measures taken.

The Employer members referred to the questions raised during the Committee discussion on this case and commented on two aspects. They observed that the obligation of the Government of Portugal to design macroeconomic policies in line with agreements of the EU agreements or the Lisbon Agreement was not covered by Convention No. 122. Moreover, the Committee of Experts did not give value to these policies in its observation. With regard to the principal objective of Convention No. 122, they stated that it was necessary to focus on the creation of employment opportunities and to analyse the factors that promoted or hindered employment. They noted that this priority was sometimes not clearly recognized. They recalled that policies implementing promotional Conventions such as Convention No. 122 often covered many different policy fields. The assessment of a single part of this policy package could hardly be made without prior in-depth analysis of all the related aspects.

The Committee took note of the detailed information provided by the Government representative and of the discussions that followed. The Committee recalled that this case concerned a priority Convention which required, in consultation with the social partners, the formulation and adoption, within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy, of an employment policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment. The Committee noted that the Government was presently carrying out an employment policy within the framework of the European Employment Strategy and was proceeding to a regular revision of its National Plan on Employment. The Committee trusted that the Government would continue to communicate its reply on the matters raised by the Committee of Experts and that it would include information in its reports on the result of the tripartite consultation and on the other measures taken to achieve the important objectives set by this priority Convention.